French president Francois Hollande arrived in India today for Republic Day visit

India submitted its first Biennial Update Report to UNFCCC

Punjab government launches employment drive for Youth

TRAI to decide on net neutrality by January end

Hollande to inaugurate Interim secretariat of ISA

Cabinet clears President’s rule in Arunachal Pradesh

Nepal amends four month old constitution

Google to pay $185 m back taxes to U.K

Ola launches social ride-sharing platform in Chennai

‘Mumbai, Delhi among top Asia Pacific cities for millionaires’

RBI to introduce new 500,100 rupee notes

NASA captures ‘snowzilla’ blizzard from space

PV Sindhu wins Malaysia Masters title

US startup develops smart wallet ‘Walli’

Sushma Swaraj Arrives In Bahrain For First India-Arab Ministerial Meet

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj arrived in Manama for the
first ministerial meeting of the India-Arab League Cooperation Forum to
deepen the country’s ties with the 22-member grouping amid tensions
between regional heavyweights Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Ms Swaraj, who is Manama on a two-day visit, will also hold
bilateral meetings with foreign ministers of a number of Arab League
countries, including her Bahraini counterpart Khalid bin Ahmed Al
Khalifa.

Maha ATS blocks 94 sites linked to ISIS

Amid the national crackdown on terrorists and terror suspects, the
Mumbai Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) has blocked 94 websites linked to
Islamic State of Iraq and the LevantS.

Phansalkar further said that the Mumbai ATS is ready to combat terrorism.

The multi-city raids that had begun on Friday across six states
wound up with the arrest of Imran Mozzam Khan Pathan of Aurangabad in
Maharashtra.

In Maharashtra, the first Solar Power operated Mini-Water Supply
Plant in the state has been commissioned in Hingna village of Mouda
Taluka in Nagpur district.

The Solar Pump Unit has been installed on experimental basis by Rite
Water Solutions under the supervision of the Zilla Parishad
authorities. The village with six hundred households is now getting pure
water for a very low cost which can easily be borne by the Gram
Panchayat.

The system runs completely on solar power for which 1800 Watt panels
have been installed. It delivers 10,000 Litres of purified water every
day and the nitrate content from water is completely removed so as to
prevent the ill effects on the health of villagers.

Cabinet recommends President’s Rule in Arunachal Pradesh

The Union Cabinet recommended imposition of President’s Rule in Arunachal Pradesh, which is facing a political turmoil.

Up in arms against Congress Chief Minister Nabam Tuki, 21 rebel
party MLAs, including 14 disqualified a day before, with the help of BJP
and independent legislators, congregated at a community hall after the
state Assembly complex was ‘sealed’ by the local administration, and
‘impeached’ Rebia in an impromptu session chaired by deputy speaker T
Norbu Thongdok.

About 27 MLAs in 60-member Assembly, including the Chief Minister and his ministerial colleagues, boycotted the proceedings.

Fin min approves buying 14 lakh new electronic voting machines

The Election Commission has moved a step forward towards procuring
nearly 14 lakh new electronic voting machines(EVM), with the Finance
Ministry giving in-principle approval for buying the new devices which
are required ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Sources in the government said an estimated Rs 1,872 crore would be
required in 2016-17 for the new EVMs, but final figures will be
available when the EC issues tender.

A senior government functionary explained that the two government
undertaking Bharat Electronics Ltd, Bengaluru and Electronic Corporation
of India Ltd, Hyderabad will not be in a position to produce new EVMs
in one go and would provide it to the Commission in batches.

French President Francois Hollande began the economic leg of his
three-day visit to India, offering his country’s assistance in the development of at least three smart cities Chandigarh, Puducherry and Nagpur.

The announcement came during two back-to-back meetings which the
visiting head of state, along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, held
here with the corporate leaderships of the two countries.

The businesses of the two sides also signed 16 pacts mainly in urban
development and clean energy, but also covering one agreement on
aerospace between the French giant Airbus and India’s Mahindras.

China, Iran agree to expand trade to $600 bn in a decade

China and Iran mapped out a wide-ranging 25-year plan to broaden
relations and expand trade during the first visit by a Chinese leader to
the Islamic republic in 14 years.

President Xi Jinping met with his counterpart Hassan Rouhani, a week
after the lifting of international sanctions against Iran over its
nuclear program. The Chinese leader is the first head of state of the
six-country bloc that negotiated the historic deal to visit Iran.

The two countries signed 17 documents and letters of intent, IRNA
reported, including treaties on judicial, commercial and civil matters.
Iran is seeking to attract $50 billion annually in foreign investment
for the country’s ailing $400 billion economy.

Alice Vaidyan, new CMD of GIC Re

Alice Vaidyan has been appointed Chairman and Managing Director of
General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re), the National Reinsurer.
She will hold office till July 31, 2019. GIC Re is the 14th largest
reinsurer globally and is presently the only reinsurance company in
India.

Vaidyan belongs to the 1983 batch of direct recruit officers of
general insurance industry. She has been the General Manager and CFO of
GIC Re from October 2012.

Get ready for 5 eclipses this year

Astronomy enthusiasts and sky gazers will be able to watch five
eclipses this year, but only two of these will be visible in India.

The celestial events will start with a total solar eclipse on March
9, which will be partially visible in North East, Ujjain based Jiwaji
Observatory’s Superintendent Rajendraprakash Gupt.

Later, a penumbral lunar eclipse will occur on March 23, but it
would not be visible in India. Another penumbral lunar eclipse will take
place on August 18 and an annular solar eclipse will occur on September
1, both of which will again not be visible. However, lunar eclipse will
occur on September 16 and will be visible.

n-gage messaging app launched in India

Instant messaging app n-gage launched its service in India to allow
users to share content with competing platforms like WhatsApp and Viber,
a move aimed at tapping into the booming mobile Internet user base in
India.

The platform ensures security of users through the various features
and at the same time, availability of the desktop version ensures that
those without smartphones can use the platform,”.

Regulators Recall Another 5 Million Vehicles Due To Faulty Air Bags

Prompted by a recent death in South Carolina, federal regulators
have recalled five million vehicles with defective Takata air bags,
which have injured more than 100 U.S. drivers.

The brands recalled include Ford, Volkswagen, Audi and Mercedes Benz.

In one of the largest such actions in history, 24 million vehicles
equipped with the Japanese company’s air bags have been recalled in the
United States.

PV Sindhu Starts 2016 With Malaysia Masters Badminton Crown

Two-time World Championship bronze-medallist, India’s P V Sindhu
made a rousing start to the new season as she clinched the Malaysia
Masters Grand Prix Gold title after defeating Scotland’s Kristy Gilmour
in straight games in the final.

The third seeded Indian had lost to Gilmour in 2013 French Open in
their only meeting but she showed why she is considered to be one of
India’s most revered women’s singles shuttler as she avenged her loss
with a dominating 21 -15 21-9 win in a 32-minute clash to clinch her
fifth Grand Prix Gold title.

This is her second Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold title, having
won it in 2013 as well. She also completed a hat-trick at the Macau Open
Grand Prix Gold in November last year.

Tabla maestro Pandit Shankar Ghosh passes away

Eminent tabla player Pandit Shankar Ghosh passed away at a private city hospital.

He was 80 years old. Ghosh, who had been admitted to the hospital
following heart ailments, was in coma for past 40 days, his
daughter-in-law Jaya Seal Ghosh told PTI.

The legendary classical exponent, who is the father and mentor of
new age percussionist Pt Bickram Ghosh, had been at the ICU of the
super-speciality hospital on E M Bypass, since mid December and
underwent angioplasty on December 14.